Autumn in winter
by Lilabean443
Summary: Eleven year old Autumn joins the Avengers, and no one knows what to expect. All of the Avengers show their softer side. But when something terrible happens to one of them, they have to work together to cope and find answers. Steve/Natasha. Don't like don't read! :-)
1. Prologue

**Authors note:**

**Um well hi guys! I'm new here, and this is my **

**first story! It will probably suck, and I'm sorry for any errors!**

**WARNINGS: rated T for Tony's Language.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the avengers, yadda yadda, and all that jazz! :)**

**I hope you enjoy!**

Prologue

Electricity crackles as Thor sighs impatiently. Tony drums his fingers on the table, and Natasha snuggles even closer to Steve's broad chest. Bruce and Clint are almost oblivious to the anxious atmosphere, Clint messing with his bow, and banner sucked into a book. They almost literally can't wait; everyone here hates surprises. There's an awkward screech as Tony adjusts himself in the uncomfortable plastic chair. More silence. It seems like forever until finally FINALLY the door opens; the new recruit is here. All of the avengers eagerly look up towards the sound. One by one their mouths drop in surprise. Nick fury leads a little girl into the room, his large dark hand around her pale delicate one. She can't be more than twelve, even then she has a diminutive stature. Long red hair tumbles down to the curve of her back. She's got porcelain skin, with a bright orange spatter of freckles beneath her ice blue eyes, decorating her button nose. She smiles nervously, a timid flash of white teeth against rosebud lips. Steve's eyebrows are so high, he wonders if they're still on his head. Eventually Nick clears his throat and introduces the kid. "Everyone, this is Autumn, our new recruit." Tony's jaw drops to the floor, and Thor looks confused. Clint voices what everyone else is thinking. "THIS is our new Avenger?

Um, so what do you guys think? Reviews are the only way to make me better!


	2. Chapter 1

**Wow guys thanks for the reviews! Sorry about the tight spacing**

** And overall suckiness! Anyways... **

**WARNING: (again)**

** There will be whump, and a ridiculous amount of fluff in the next chapters to come!**

**Disclaimer:**

**Me: Can I please own the Avengers?**

**Marvel: No.**

** *sigh* **

**well it was worth a shot. As you can see I do not own the Avengers.**

I will most certainly remember that first day. I knew that they were the Avengers. I just hadn't thought that they would be so BIG. They sat on the large black couch, jaws dropped and eyes bugging out of their heads. Jeez, didn't someone tell them that I would be ... You know... Tiny? Eventually, the one who I assumed was Steve, cleared his throat speaking against the uncomfortable silence. "Welcome to the team Autumn. I'm Steve, this is Natasha, Bruce, and Clint. Over there is Thor and Tony." He introduced them, gesturing towards each person as he talked. The group seemed to snap out of it a bit more, mumbling a respective "Hello." Bruce smiled at me, still a bit taken aback, but genuine just the same. "Autumn, what's your gift?" He asked. The blank look on my face must've given me away. "What can you do?" He clarified kindly. "Oh! Um I'm a telepath. I've got telekinesis down too." I responded awkwardly. "What Autumn can do is impressive." Nick added trying to assure the avengers that I wasn't going to fail miserably. "She can't only read your mind, she can influence it as well." I blushed hotly, cheeks reddening at the sudden recognition. A small murmur rippled through the room. "How old are you?" Asked Bruce. "Um, twelve next October." I answered trying to make myself seem as old as possible. I was beginning to become uncomfortable, feeling like I was being interrogated. Also the fact that I obviously didn't belong here with the legends I thought only existed in comic books. I automatically shrank back a little bit. Tony's voice caught me by surprise, and yanked me back to reality. "Well kid, welcome to the Avengers."

**Reviews** **please**!


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! I finally updated chapter 3, and here it is!**

**You might have to excuse this chapter. I got writers block! So please pardon it if it stinks! Anyways it's going to contain whump and a ridiculous amount of fluff. So without further delay, here's chapter 3!**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Autumns POV**

Chapter 3

The weeks to come were thankfully less awkward. I was shocked to find out that the team had a soft side when it came to me. Tony still didn't bother using better language, but I didn't mind. Pepper would hiss his name and swat him on the arm which I found amusing. He was still arrogant and cocky, but had somehow earned the nickname "Supernanny". It made some sort of sense I guess seeing that he was actually not that bad. Tony made sure Thor didn't flip out when Jarvis's voice came from the ceiling, he got Steve to use a cell phone, and he would ruffle my hair every morning, with an affectionate, "Hey kiddo."  
Natasha was almost like the mother I never had. She was actually funny and... nice I guess when she wasn't busy seducing men then kicking their asses. Unfortunately, Tony's trainer Happy had to learn this the hard way. It was weird seeing her in sweats, and making mugs of hot chocolate for Steve and I.  
Steve, was actually surprisingly normal for a super-soldier. He fell asleep on the couch, and yelled at the TV like the baseball players could actually hear him. He was the teams father figure, and astonishingly protective of all of us. Especially me. He was like a big brother, tucking me into bed, joking around, and making sure that I ate my vegetables.

Bruce was usually calm, and content most of the time preferring to work in his lab, or read a book, in alternative to playing MarioKart with the guys. He was kind and would allow me to quietly sit on the countertop and watch him do his work.  
Thor had a big loud personality to match his voice. He was one of the funniest people to be around and just an all around happy guy. He still hadn't quite gotten over Jarvis, or the idea of an iPod. "Where is the pod of i?" He always asked. Thor was huge and strong letting me to get on his shoulders and feel tall. Sometimes he pretended to drop me causing Steve a panic-attack, and a good laugh for both of us.  
Clint was the one who claimed that "veggie chips" were a true source of nutrition. He insisted on spoiling me as did most of the team. But Clint was the one with enough guts to argue with Fury about it. "The poor kid hasn't been given much! We want to change that!" He snapped.  
He was right about my background. My parents were about the worst people qualified to raise a child. I had been moved in and back out of their custody, when the child abuse and drinking problems were discovered. I was in social services, and absolutely hated it. They knew I was different. The last incident, in my opinion was funny in a dark sort of way. Lets just say that most of the psychologists ended up on the ceiling.  
I suppose Clint felt bad for some reason about the whole thing, therefore giving me all the junk food my heart could desire. He along with the rest of the team, (and myself) were hoping that I could gain a little weight. Sadly no such luck was in order.

For a few months everything was perfect. I finally had a family of my own and everything was going right. Until late september. Ah yes, flu season. That miserable time of year when everyone gets sick. Unfortunately, most of us were not an exception. Thor was, being a demigod, incapable of getting sick even if he tried. Tony and Clint were total babies, which was hilarious in my opinion. But the thing that surprised us the most was that even Cap starting coughing. It was odd but we brushed it off. I felt bad for Thor who had to watch us suffer, without the faintest clue of what was going on. I didn't exactly mind, though being sick was mildly irritating. I'd had worse. But we made the most of it. We all crashed in the theater room, bringing,blankets, pillows and supplies. A movie marathon took place. But two weeks later when everyone else was better, Cap wasn't (even though he insisted he was "fine"). Eventually he got worse and worse till the point where he was coughing up blood. That was when Nick decided it was time for a doctors appointment. Turns out it was tuberculosis. If we had let it go on for a bit longer, it might've killed him. When the news was broken to us, we were frozen in some kind of sick relief. Natasha's eyes actually filled with tears, and Tony's jaw was dropped to the floor. As for me, I was just... Numb. The realization had hit me hard. It wasn't just that Cap was sick. It was that for the first time, it seemed like our perfect little family was falling apart.

**meh... Okay that was chapter 3...**

**Pretty pretty please review?**

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